To remain competitive in the travel and hospitality industry means making the very best of web based apps and cloud technology. A crucial part of this is being able to accept online bookings 24/7 but developing an in-house booking system is both costly and resource intensive. There are, however, some very good reservation and online booking apps that do the hard work for you. Since they are cloud based, there’s zero maintenance at your end, they can be accessed from any device, they’re easy to use, and you can start accepting reservations through your website and social media channels instantly.

These online apps for the hospitality, leisure, and travel industries cover a wide range of uses and industries including for hotels, tours, sightseeing operators, bars, hair salons, restaurants, and even one-time courses or events. They let you get on with improving your business while your customers can book and pay for everything online with a credit card with no need to use the phone or leave the house.

So here are 5 of the best online booking apps that will make your customer scheduling so much easier. These aren’t free online booking apps, and they generally come with a monthly subscription, but most offer free trials.

If you run or are part of a business that entertains clients by appointment only, such as a clinic, salon or consultancy, you know how difficult it is to keep staff and visitors on track — you not only have to schedule appointments, but also avoid clashes, remind clients to show up and stay sane enough to make your sessions worthwhile. A secretary could surely make light work of this, but what’s a professional to do if he/she can’t afford to pay another employee’s full salary?

For starters, you might want to try Ubooq, a new service that lets your clients see when you’re available, book appointments and receive reminders via text message — all from your website or standalone booking page. Meanwhile, you’ll get notified of new bookings and stay on top of things, allowing you to deliver the best possible service your customers have ever experienced. Sounds too good to be true? Let’s see if Ubooq is really up to the task.

Our sponsor this week is Resource Guru, the fast and simple way to schedule people, equipment, and other resources online. Resource Guru helps companies become more efficient and profitable, and it’s getting a great response from the creative agency world and beyond.

With Resource Guru, you can quickly see everything about your team on one clever calendar. At a glance, you can see what projects and clients resources are booked, so you’ll know who’s busy and who’s free without searching for old emails. You can schedule and change bookings lightning fast, with advanced clash management that keeps you from double-booking anything. Everything you need to track can be tracked in Resource Guru, as you can add custom fields and use them to filter through your calendar. It’s your one-stop-shop for everything you need to schedule and track in your business.

Want to dig in and see what else Resource Guru has to offer? Check out the full features list on Resource Guru’s site to see all of the great reasons you should try it out.

Go Get It!

You can get started scheduling your team, equipment, and more online in just 30 seconds with a free Resource Guru trial. You’ll get to try out Resource Guru for free for 30 days, and you don’t even have to enter your credit card info to signup and try it out. Once you’ve decided to use it with your team, you can purchase the subscription that works best for your team, starting at only $19 per month.

Trips and tours are awesome, but planning them isn’t. Yes, you can leave it to a travel agency to book you on a package tour and skip all the hassles of planning a trip but, package tours are just that – packages. They’re not customized to your taste as the agency has to satisfy the rest of the group too.

Wanderfly promises to expose you the true joy and thrill of travel, planning everything all by yourself, right from the very beginning. After jump, we will be exploring how far does Wanderfly measure up to making good on the promise.